The serial finally ended with much hugging and smiling, but still no Dadisaab aka Rajmata or the rest of the family

Aruna Irani’s drama Dekha Ek Khwaab ended its year-long run last night (August 2) with happy reunions. Maanayata (Priyal Gor)and Udayveer (Ashish Kapoor) confess their love for each other and indulge in a bit of PDA. Ah, but this is no Bade Acche Lagte Hain, so they limit their demonstrations of affection to kisses on the cheek. And just when you think they might progress to a liplock, their siblings Vijay and Unnati interrupt them. Darn, a real shame!

Oh, and we have to tell you about the funniest moment in the entire episode. Maanayata and Udayveer are hugging each other in the main hall with the other two – who have suddenly developed love for each other – when Jaynandini yells at them from the balcony: “Jiji!” Then in adramatic manner, she walks down the steps, cue music and all. The four people present downstairs stare at her with varying expressions of puzzlement, confusion and horror. “Aap kuch bhool rahi ho,” she states. (You are forgetting something.) They stare again. Then ever so slowly – almost as if they had to fill the time limit somehow – Jay pulls out the yuvrani’s crown from behind her back. She shows it to Maanayata. Everyone stares again, supposedly confused. Jay smiles and says it belongs to the Yuvrani and then places the rather obviously tacky-fake tiara on Maanayata’s head. Everybody is overwhelmed and smiles. Jay then bows her head in respect for the crown princess, but Maanayata says, “Chhoti behen ki jagah wahan nahin, yahan hai” (The younger sister’s place is here, in my heart) and hugs her. An emotional Jay, mercifully without the eye makeup says, “Sorry”. That’s it. That ‘apology’ is supposed to be sufficient for her long list of various crimes.

All is forgiven and the five stars pose together for a group photo, with Uday hugging Jay rather than Maanayata – no, we shall not go in that direction, promise! No mention of the Rajmata or the rest of the royal family. Or why it took Vijay till the penultimate episode to decide to make Jay see sense, or why it took her that long to be convinced. Anyway, we are just glad it’s over. Are you?

The Indian version of the Princess Diaries is coming to an end on August 2, and the makers are trying their level best to cram the story into the deadline

Ultimately Dekha Ek Khwaab will end with Udayveer (Ashish Kapoor) and Maanyata (Priyal Gor) tying the knot, and Jainandini (Shritama Mukherjee) suddenly turning over a new leaf (after realising that she came in between true lovers – how clichéd!), while good boy-turned-bad boy Aakash will vanish into oblivion with Tara, or so we hear. But seriously, where’s the fun in that! The end is not only predictable, but also very bland and boring, no? We worked up some alternatives that probably make for a better climax. Hope the show’s writers are taking pointers!

# Maanyata convinces Udayveer to elope with her, so no one can create any more misunderstandings between them.

# Udayveer kidnaps Maanyata and sweeps her off to an island isolated and keeps her there until she grows some sense.

# Maanyata, fed up with all the politics within the family, gives up her throne to Vijaybhai (Mark Farokh Parakh) and relocates to the US, where she starts working in a drive-through restaurant.

# Maanyata quits trying to woo Udayveer and decides to join a nunnery.

# Maanyata takes up politics and donates her rights as the Queen to Jainandini.

#Udayveer realises that Maanyata will always be confused and loses himself to alcohol. Jainandini decides to become the modern day Chandramukhi to her Devdas (Uday).

# Udayveer tries to commit suicide by jumping off a cliff when Maanyata chooses power and position over love, but fails and loses his short term memory instead.

# In frustration, Jainandini kills both Maanyata and Udayveer – that’s a perfect ending for us, provided they don’t come back as ghosts or make another show on their rebirth.

Thank God the show is not an English series, or the whole happy gang would have been back with Season 2. And we definitely wouldn’t want that to happen, would we!

The channel is not happy with the way the show has been performing. Neither are we, actually

A li’l birdie chirped the other day that Aruna Irani’s TV show Dekha Ek Khwaab is going off air soon. Apparently the channelwallahs don’t like the fact that the show has failed to increase ratings. As of the week ending May 19, Sony is at fourth position, behind Star Plus, Zee and even Colors. DEK replaced Kaun Banega Crorepati 5 last November and in the months since it has not been able to fill the game show’s big shoes. Or even any other show’s much smaller shoes. Since Sony doesn’t have Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa to bank on any more – Colors has bagged it this season – the channel needs daily soaps to engage its viewers. Something like Byaah Hamari Bahu Ka, whose promos have already made viewers curious enough to tune in. Kuch Toh Log Kahenge has been shifted to make space for BHBK, Adaalat has been rescheduled for the sake of Indian Idol 6. But since its ratings are not in the same league as that of the other two shows, DEK will have to bow out altogether in favour of a more interesting show.

Frankly, we are glad. DEK is a drag. From the time the first promo aired, we knew that Moniya was going to be crowned Princess Maanayata. But it took seven long months for it to happen. When Udaybeer killed Akaash, we were relieved. Finally, the most insipid character on th eshow is bumped off! Only now Akaash has come back as a rude, arrogant lookalike Aryan Rai Choudhury and is even worse than his first avatar. The storyline is going nowhere and Rajmata’s machinations are yawn inducing. It’s time the show wrapped up and made way for KBC 6.

Troubles have not yet ended for the Rajmata even though they have now found her long-lost grand daughter

Aruna Irani, who is not only acting in but also producing Dekha Ek Khwaab, is excited about the show’s progress and the ratings its been getting. The story has finally reached the point that was advertised in its promo before it started. When Rajmata Mrinalini Devi (Aruna Irani) first heard that her missing grand daughter Maanyata (Priyal Gour) has been found, she was “extremely happy”. She was eager to bring her home. Now it seems this story is not going to have a happy ending any time soon. Maanyata aka Muniya is distraught at being separated from the man she has always thought of as her father. Rajkumari Maanyata had been kidnapped by Murari when she was just a kid. He raised her as his own child and Muniya too loved him as her father, totally unaware of her actual ancestry. Even though Rajmata tells her the truth, she is still not ready to believe that she is actually a princess. She continues to revolt and Rajmata is forced to lock her up in a room. All you viewers out there already know that Muniya is bound to accept the truth soon. That’s not a spoiler. What we’ve heard, however, is that Muniya will be seen in a new avatar. The Rajmata is too embarrassed to present Maanyata in her current avatar to the whole world as the long-lost princess, so she will see to it that her granddaughter gets a makeover. Muniya will start sporting modern day regal clothing – designer jeans, shirts, lehenga cholis, salwar kameezes that befit a princess. A new haircut and a better sense of make up have also been planned. Remember how Jassi in Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin too had a makeover? Those hideous glasses, outfits and horrible fringe were all removed so the pretty face underneath could be revealed. Dekha Ek Khwaab too is taking that route, though much earlier in the story line compared to Jassi. Of course, all this also means Muniya will have to face jealousy from her own sister, Jaynandini. Aruna Irani confirms that a lot of sibling rivalry is in store and Rajmata has decided how to handle it, but Aruna is not willing to reveal the plot line. “You have to watch the show,” she smiles.